Remembering Jane Fonda's awesome '80s workouts as she turns 80

Jane Fonda has done many things in 80 years. The star — who celebrates the milestone birthday on Dec. 21 — is an accomplished actress, activist, writer, and, maybe first in some minds, a fitness inspiration. She earns that distinction not only because she continues to look amazing, healthy, and invigorated on red carpets and on her show Grace and Frankie, but also because of the fitness empire she built.

As anyone who lived through the ’80s recalls, Fonda — in her leotard and leg warmers — was huge in the culture. Her 1982 video, simply called Jane Fonda’s Workout, is the bestselling VHS of all time. Today, her awesome fitness videos are as closely associated with the decade as New Coke, the Brat Pack, and Cabbage Patch Kids.

And why wouldn’t they be? They’re amazing, from the fashion to the moves, which Fonda leads viewers through with seemingly endless enthusiasm … on more than two dozen tapes.

Jane Fonda works it out. (Credit: YouTube)

There they are! Those pink leg warmers are everything.

Can you tell Fonda was once a dancer? (Credit: YouTube)

Warning: Not everyone looks as graceful as Fonda performing this move.

And one, and two, and three… (Credit: YouTube)

Somehow, she’s not tired yet!

As Fonda explained in a 2015 interview, recent years have been good to her.

“Spiritually and energetically, I feel younger than when I was 20 and 30,” she told the L.A. Times. “It all has to do with attitude and how you see life. … I wasn’t happy back then when I was 20 and 30; I was depressed. Now I see my past, and I see a future — and I feel like it’s going to be a good one.”